Campfire Stories
by EchidnaGirl
Summary: The gang has some quiet time after an unexpected day... And it leads to learning an important life lesson.


Alright... This is a COMPLETELY random story. XD No, actually, it's an inside joke between my good friend AmethystUchiha and myself from many years ago. It's her birthday, so... I created a strange, wacky, random story focused _around_ the joke, and I'm dedicating the story to her. Hahaha, it's extremely random with little plot, but it's for AmethystUchiha, so I hope she enjoys it! (...Not that I don't hope others enjoy it, but you know what I mean. XD )

None of this stuff belongs to me... Except I will claim ownership to Espio's campfire story. Haha, that one's all mine. But none of the characters belong to me, anyway. XD

**Campfire Stories**

"You have _**got**_ to be kidding me, Tails." The pink hedgehog stared unhappily at the short, twin-tailed fox standing in front of her.

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, Shadow, and the three members of the Chaotix Detective Agency -- Espio, Vector, and Charmy -- were standing in the dark shadow beneath a large, seemingly brand-new building.

Tails' face held a troubled expression as his hands fumbled in a mad search for his key. "It was here just a second ago..."

The rain continued to pelt them mercilessly. Vector roared as a single drop of rainwater hit him in the eye, "Can ya hurry it up?! We're gettin' soaked standing out here!"

Charmy's face took on a puzzled expression instantly. "Vector, aren't you a crocodile? I thought you're supposed to like water..."

The large green crocodile retaliated as a few more drops landed on his nose, "It's the principle of the matter, Charmy!!" Normally, a few of the others might have laughed at Charmy and Vector, simply for the sake that all arguments made by the comics seemed to be amusing. But at the moment, standing in the pouring rain, waiting for Tails to find the key that would let them into the new Headquarters for the "Sonic Team", no one found anything very entertaining at all.

Tails suddenly frowned, and his face grew thoughtful, "...Something just occured to me..."

Sonic nodded; he was the only one in the group still trying to hold out his patience for his friend. "What is it, buddy?"

The yellow-orange fox chewed his lip, murmuring quietly, "...I might've left the key at Cream's house yesterday... Before she and her mom left on vacation..." Sonic scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Amy and Knuckles both looked hostile, and Shadow simply turned and began walking away from the group.

Knuckles growled, "Can we not just take out a wall?! This is a waste of my time!"

Rouge, who wasn't completely annoyed with Tails, since she'd not really wanted to come to this group get-together, anyhow, rolled her eyes at the echidna. "Yes, we all know how precious the Guardian's time is: sitting around, sleeping all day, waking up every once in a while to protect a giant, worthless rock..."

Knuckles turned his head, scowling at her, and he shouted, "Well, if it's just a giant, worthless rock, why're you the one always trying to take it?!" He took a step toward her, more than ready for a fight.

Sonic took one look at Tails, who was already upset, and he decided a fight _probably_ wouldn't help his pal's mood. The Blue Blur boldly stepped in the direction of the angry red echidna and the smug-looking white bat. "C'mon, guys, now's not the time for a fight..."

Shadow, who had been conveniently standing near Rouge, casually moved his foot -- "_**accidentally**_" tripping the blue hero and "_**accidentally**_" making the hero fall flat on his face. Amy frowned but Shadow smirked, never once actually looking down at the blue hedgehog. Shadow's voice was quiet, but an amused tone filled it. "Oops."

Sonic sprung up, glaring at the Ultimate Lifeform, but he decided against initiating a fight -- at least Shadow had distracted Knuckles and Rouge from fighting each other. Still, as to what the group was going to do since Tails couldn't get them in to tour the new building, he wasn't sure.

Amy sighed as a bright flash of white lightning filled the sky. "Tails, I think I agree with Knuckles. We need shelter. Knuckles and I can take out a wall."

The fox pouted, "But Amy... The metal I built this building from is really expensive... It took me a year just to find someone who'd sell it to me, too..."

"METALl?!" The group simultaneously jumped back from the building as more lightning flashed across the sky.

Amy's expression darkened, and she held up her hammer, "The building... is made of metal... Which electricity is drawn to... And you invite us out here... To check the building out... In the middle of a lightning storm!?"

Rouge stared at the scene then shrugged, unfolding her wings. "Well, I'm out."

Amy turned to the bat. "What?! Rouge, you can't go! Half of us are stuck out here with no place to go!"

"Watch me care." And she flew off into the storm.

Shadow looked above him, to the sky. "Hmph. I'll be leaving, as well."

"No, Shadow, you can't!" Amy rushed over to him, grabbing his arm before he could move. "Not until everyone's safe from the storm!"

"But where are we gonna go, Amy?" Sonic seemed to be thinking. "Your apartment's only big enough for two or three people. We need to find somewhere that all eight of us can go..."

Knuckles shook his head. "Well, none of this is my problem. I'm heading back to Angel Island."

"Angel Island! Of course!" Amy beamed at the red echidna. "Thank you, Knuckles!"

The Guardian of the Master Emerald looked confused, "What? But I wasn't offering-"

Amy smiled. "To Angel Island!"

Shadow, who knew he had no chance of escaping unless the others found shelter first, withdrew his Chaos Emerald at Amy's words, and he yelled, "Chaos Control!"

* * *

A warm fire glowed in the middle of a dry cave on Angel Island. Around the fire sat the still figures of Amy, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Espio.

Amy whined, bored, "When are Vector and Charmy coming back with that popcorn?"

Sonic shrugged. "Knowing Vector, they could be back anytime within the next five minutes up to the next three days."

Amy groaned, "Can we not do something to pass the time?"

Tails looked around at the cave walls. "There's not much to do, Amy..."

"We could...." She stared at the wall, then the ceiling, then her eyes landed on the fire in front of her. "Tell scary stories!! I love campfire stories!"

"Okay..." Sonic and Tails nodded slowly.

None of them noticed the quiet chameleon, Espio, lean a bit forward in interest.

Amy smiled, clapping her hands together. "Alright! I'll start!" She smoothed her dress out absentmindedly then folded her hands. "Once upon a time...."

" 'Once upon a time'? I thought these were supposed to be scary stories."

"Shut up, Knuckles! It's a campfire story, and I'll start it whatever way I want to! Now... As I was saying... _Once upon a time_, the world was in grave danger... A large, evil man with a fondness for doughnuts and huge, bushy moustaches -- not to mention tacky clothes..."

"Amy."

"Sorry." The pink hedgehog took a deep breath, then continued. "_Anyway,_ he was kidnapping animals from their homes and using them to create terrible, horrible robots that would destroy all of Mobius! To create his own utopia! The robots were powerful, and they destroyed everything in their paths... Until one day... A brave blue hedgehog ran into a few of the robots. He saw what they were doing, and he attacked them, freeing the animals! The evil man tried to stop the hedgehog, but he was no match for the awesomeness! The hedgehog became the hero of Mobius! He became friends with a little fox and an echidna -- even though the echidna was a jerk at first..."

Knuckles cleared his throat.

Amy continued as though she didn't notice. "And then, one fateful day, the blue hedgehog saved a young, amazingly beautiful princess from the clutches of a robot... And he instantly fell deeply in love with her! And the blue hedgehog couldn't hide his feelings! He asked her to marry him, and she said yes! And the the beautiful princess and the hedgehog lived happily ever after!"

Sonic and Tails both sweatdropped.

Amy smiled, dreamily, "So, what'd you think?"

Tails bit his lip. "Er, great story, Amy."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Hey, you're right, that was _definitely_ a scary story. A hedgehog and a beautiful princess. Well, granted the hedgehog could be taken as frightening..."

Amy smacked the echidna, glaring, then turned around to Sonic, her face transforming instantly from a glare to a grin. "Your turn, Sonic!!!"

Sonic managed a half-hearted smile. "Uh, sure, Amy... How do I begin?"

"Once upon a time..."

"Okay. _Once upon a time_..."

Knuckles frowned. "Really, Sonic? Can't think of a better beginning than that?"

The blue hedgehog continued as if he hadn't heard anything, "There was an incredibly awesome hedgehog by the name of..." He paused, trying to think, then finally just said, "Sonic. One morning, Sonic went out for a run, and he heard a terrible noise..." The Blue Blur leaned a little toward the fire, his eyes darkening as he spoke. "It was the sound of a voice calling his name... The hedgehog turned his head, looking around for the source of the voice... But no one was there..."

Knuckles crossed his arms but didn't say anything, since, apparently, Sonic was actually making some sort of effort to tell a good story. Amy looked like she was daydreaming more than she was actually listening. But Tails was listening, wide-eyed.

"Sonic figured that he was just hearing things, so he turned and started running even faster... The voice called his name again, clearly, and he knew that he'd heard the voice before... He stopped, twirling around, but no one was there. He started running again. He wasn't sure where he was running anymore, but as the voice called out to him again it sounded closer. He needed to get away. He ran faster. A slow fog had drifted in around him at some point, making everything impossible to see -- not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting away from the voice..."

Knuckles sighed, bored with the story that he obviously didn't even find slightly frightening. Sonic ignored him.

"So the hedgehog kept running and running, further and further into the fog, and the further he ran, the closer the voice came..."

Suddenly, Espio, who had previously gone unnoticed quietly spoke up. "I believe 'farther' would be the correct terminology."

Sonic gave the chameleon a look that read similarly to "What. the. heck."

Tails quickly snapped out of his previous entrancement with the story and nodded. "Yeah, it's true. 'Farther' is referring to physical distance, Sonic." Knuckles raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything -- sure, he didn't see what it mattered whether a single word was used correctly or not, but, hey, if someone wants to actually correct Sonic the Hedgehog, he wasn't gonna say anything to stop it.

Sonic shrugged. "Well, whatever."

Tails tilted his head. "But wait, what happened to the hedgehog?"

Knuckles, who was still irritated that the gang had basically invited themselves to stay with him on his island, snapped, "He stopped running, fell into the water and sank like a rock. The end."

Amy shook her head in boredom. "This is getting less and less entertaining... You wanna go, Knuckles?"

The Guardian glanced at her. "What do I say?"

"Just make up a story. Or think of the scariest thing you can think of."

His violet eyes scanned the walls of the cave as the red echidna thought for a moment then said, "The scariest thing I can think of... Hmph. One day -- _**NOT**__ 'Once upon a time' _--"

"Give it a rest, Knucklehead."

"Grrr.... One day, I woke up on the shrine.... And the Master Emerald... was **gone.**"

Amy blinked, staring at the echidna. He just crossed his arms and sat back. She frowned deeply. "That's it?"

"Yep."

"You wake up... And the Master Emerald's gone?"

"Yep."

"That's the scariest thing you can think of?"

"What could be scarier?"

Amy took a deep breath, allowing herself to fall on her back in boredom. "Please tell me someone's got a more entertaining story to tell."

Tails shook his head, looking ashamed, but Espio's serene voice spoke up, "Actually... I know of a story..."

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles turned their attention to Espio. Even Amy sat up a bit to look at the chameleon curiously. When the lizard said nothing, she nodded her head. "Go on. Can't be worse than Knuckles' story."

"HEY!"

They all ignored the echidna's outburst. But little did they know just how wrong Amy was.

Taking Amy's nod as encouragement, Espio slowly began, his voice emotionless but powerful. "**Once upon a time**..."

Knuckles growled, "Seriously, Espio?"

"Hm...** Long ago**..."

"Oh, come on! Is there not a better beginning to a story?!"

Amy glowered, her voice annoyed. "Let it go, Knuckles."

Espio stayed still, waiting for them to quiet themselves before starting again, "**Long ago, there was a lonely little ninja star. This lonely little ninja star was an ever so lonely little ninja star. It was indeed a ninja star, and it was indeed lonely, and the lonely little ninja star could never move. Instead, the lonely little ninja star stayed. And stayed. And stayed, all by its lonesome self, on the lonely soil of the lonely ground, in the lonely outskirts of a lonely town, in the lonely suburbs of a lonely city, in the lonely province in a lonely state, in a lonely country in the lonely world**..."

Tails stared at the fuchsia chameleon in awe then whispered quietly to Sonic, "I don't think I've ever heard Espio talk half this much in all the times I've heard him speak combined..."

Amy glanced over at the fox, silently mouthing the words, "Will he just get on with it and tell us the story already?"

"**...in the lonely galaxy around a lonely star, in the loneliest of all lonely universes. The lonely little ninja star simply just stayed, lonely, on the ground, as lonely as ever, and it waited, in the most lonely way it could possibly wait, for something or someone to find it -- in hopes that the something or someone to find the lonely little ninja star would make the lonely little ninja star's life perhaps a bit less little and a bit less lonely. After all, the lonely little ninja star was, indeed, very little and lonely. It was so little that even the littlest of all other little ninja stars in a little world of little ninja stars was, indeed, larger than the lonely little ninja star. It was so lonely that even the loneliest of all other lonely ninja stars, even in a lonely universe composed solely of lonely ninja stars, would still be less lonely than the lonely little ninja star**..."

Knuckles, who was totally lost as to what Espio was saying at all, put his hands to his head. Sonic, who was at least as lost as Knuckles, smirked, unable to resist the temptation to mock the echidna even under these circumstances, and he whispered, "Getting a headache, buddy?" Knuckles glared at the Blue Blur from the corner of his eye.

Amy, getting seriously frustrated, looked over at Tails, but the young, twin-tailed fox was watching Espio as if completely transfixed by his words. Amy waved her hand to catch Tails' attention, and she quietly asked, "What is this story even about?"

The yellow-orange fox chewed his lip before answering, "I think it must be some sort of ingenious metaphor to some deep-meaning concept -- I mean, well, it's Espio, right? So there's got to be something to the story... We'll just have to wait for the end, I guess."

Amy slowly turned away. "Still... Shouldn't he breathe? I'm pretty sure he hasn't breathed once since he started talking..."

"**...Altogether, the lonely little ninja star's littleness and loneliness was simply so great that no other lonely little object nor no other lonely little being could ever compare. The lonely little ninja star was completely little and completely lonely, and it had been so little and so lonely for as long as its lonely little ninja star mind could remember. It had been lonely for many lonely centuries, not to mention many lonely millenia and many single, lonely years... It had been lonely for many lonely months, many lonely weeks, many lonely days... Each lonely second of loneliness for the lonely little ninja star added into lonely minutes, lonely hours, amounting into countless lonely days... On and on and on for so long that each lonely day and each lonely year simply blended together until the lonely little ninja star could not keep its lonely little ninja star mind focused on the forever-passing lonely time - **..."

Charmy's voice suddenly interrupted, cutting through the dullness of the atmosphere, echoing throughout the cave, "We got the popcorn!!!" Vector and Charmy appeared at the cave entrance. Vector was holding a large, empty bucket.

Amy sighed, at least glad for an interruption, and she looked over at the bee before looking at Vector's empty bucket. "Then where is it?"

Charmy hung his head. "We ate it all."

The pink hedgehog jumped up, regaining her senses. "What?! We're all starving, and you didn't even save any popcorn for us?!" She paused then added, "We've been going through torture while you two were out!!"

Vector narrowed his eyes. "What kinda torture?"

Tails glanced awkwardly at Amy then said, "Well, after you guys had been gone for a while, we got bored, so Amy decided to start story time, and, well -"

Simultaneously, Vector's and Charmy's eyes dilated and their voices rang out, "STORY TIME?!!"

Espio gracefully crossed his arms, and everyone immediately turned their attention to him. Charmy whimpered, "Please no, Espio!"

The chameleon's voice stayed calm. "Don't interrupt." The bee, looking as though he'd been physically stabbed in the heart, drifted to the ground pouting. "Now then..." Amy and Sonic exchanged a worried glance. "As I was saying: each lonely day and each lonely year blended until the lonely little ninja star could not keep its lonely little ninja star mind focused on the forever-passing, lonely time** of the forever-moving, lonely world. The lonely little ninja star's lonely little ninja star mind was so unfocused that the only thing that the lonely little ninja star could do at all was wait, so indeed, the lonely little ninja star continued to wait. And it waited, by its lonesome self. It waited, on the lonely soil of the lonely ground, in the lonely outskirts of a lonely town, in the lonely suburbs of a lonely city, in the lonely province in a lonely state, in a lonely country in the lonely world, in the lonely galaxy around a lonely star, in the loneliest of all lonely universes, while all around the lonely little ninja star the lonely seconds turned to lonely minutes, into lonely hours, into lonely days, then to lonely weeks into lonely months, into lonely years into lonely millenia, into lonely centuries...**" Not once did Espio stop to take a breath. "**And the lonely little ninja star waited, as patiently yet as lonely as the lonely little ninja star possibly could. It waited with such an intense lonely aspect to all of its lonely waiting that, when compared to the lonely little ninja star's lonely waiting, no other lonely thing's lonely waiting could even be considered lonely; after all, the lonely little ninja star was truly alone -- as alone as any lonely little ninja star could ever be. And it waited, lonely. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited..."**

Knuckles, Vector, and Charmy groaned from the pain surging through their skulls.

Amy glanced at Sonic who looked simply dumbfounded. She growled menacingly, "Espio, if you don't put a 'The End' to this story within the next twenty seconds..."

Suddenly, without warning, the chameleon paused abruptly. Everyone looked up hopefully except for Charmy and Vector who just hung their heads even more. Espio seemed puzzled, and the others stared. Then quietly the lizard mused, "I seem to have lost my place..."

Sonic nearly jumped for joy, but Charmy's miserable little voice stopped him, "Wait for it."

As if on cue, Espio said, "Hm. I suppose I'll just have to start over..."

Sonic fell over backward. Amy and Knuckles both looked at each other... He can't be serious, right?

"**Once upon a time -- long ago... There was a lonely little ninja star...**" Oh, but he _**was **_serious. The pink hedgehog's eye twitched, and she peered over at Knuckles, trying to ask him mentally if he'd back her up if she started a fight right there in the cave. But the poor echidna was braindead, and he'd already commenced hitting his head against the rock wall. "**That lonely little ninja star was an ever so lonely little ninja star...**"

Giving up, Amy collapsed on her side, facing the wall, watching Knuckles' head collide with the stone... Over and over and over... On and on and on... Just like Espio's continuing, pointless story...

**"...Instead, the lonely little ninja star stayed. And stayed. And stayed, all by its lonesome self, on the lonely soil of the lonely ground, in the lonely outskirts of a lonely town, in the lonely suburbs of a lonely city, in the lonely province in a lonely state, in a lonely country in the lonely world**..."

The fire was beginning to fade when Amy finally managed to tune out Espio's overbearingly monotone voice. The whole cave was dark when his words began repeating themselves numerous times. Amy couldn't exactly hear what he was saying, but his voice drawled on in the background. Knuckles had fallen to the ground and was staring up at the ceiling, eyes bloodshot from being so tired. No matter how much they wanted to go to sleep, something about the story refused to let them escape...

"**And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Until one lonely day...**"

_Please let this be the end. PLEASE!_ The pink hedgehog grasped at her hair, unintentionally falling into a fit of twitches. _Make it stop!! The sound is too unbearable!!!_

".....**And flew. And flew. And flew. And flew. And flew. And flew, and flew. And so it has been said that the lonely little ninja star never actually landed. Somewhere in the skies above, it is still there. Flying and flying and flying. Amongst the vast space of stars above. And it is no longer little. And it is no longer lonely."**

The only thing that brought Amy to her senses... The only thing that made her realize that the story had stopped... Was that the moment Espio stopped speaking, she fell like a rock to the ground, fast asleep.

Tails stood up, staring in half-awe, half-fear at the fuchsia chameleon, and shakily he spoke, "That was an incredibly long story... Is it a tale told in the world of ninjas or something?"

Espio nodded sagely, closing his eyes. "Indeed." The chameleon's quiet disposition seemed to be back, fully in place.

Tails yawned; after all, he'd been listening intently, but there was hardly any way to stay wide awake through all of that. "So... All tales like that have morals, right? Or values?" The chameleon nodded, so Tails continued, "Can you explain what sort of values are taught by the ninja star in the story?"

Espio leaned back against the wall behind him, crossing his arms, and he slowly shook his head. "That is my favorite of all stories. It is simply a tale. And through it, I find that others learn one of the most important values on the planet." The chameleon opened one eye. "Boredom is a blessing." And he closed the eye again. "**Silence truly is golden**."

Hahahaha, yes, yes it is, Espio. XD So, everyone, next time you're complaining about being bored... The next time you decide you hate silence... Well, at least you're not listening to Espio rant on and on about a lonely little ninja star that is, indeed, ever-so-lonely. Hahaha.

_**Happy Birthday, AmethystUchiha!**_

_If you would like, for some odd, insane, reason to actually read the entire short story, "The Lonely Little Ninja Star", then I will provide a copy of it as the next chapter. Haha, no clue WHY you'd want to read it, unless you just enjoy annoying yourself to death or something. But it will be there in the next few days, so you may do as you wish._


End file.
